Air circulator



R W, SMITH AIR CIRCULATOR Jan 12, 1954 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed MayAi 1951 F I G. 2

\INVENTOR. RULO WAYNE SMITH ATTORNEY R. W. SMITH AIR CIRCULATOR Jam. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 4, 1951 FIGS FIG.4

RULO WAYNE SMITH ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1.. Rulo Wayne Smith, Auburn, Ind., assignor of one half to J. Allen McMeen, Fort Wayne, Ind. Application May 4, 1951, Serial No. 224,525

This invention relates to improvements in an air circulator adapted for use in conjunction with heating or other air conditioning apparatus. Generally, air circulating apparatuses are made up of numerous'elements' including a re volving blower, a motor to drive the blower, gearing or belting, an air deflector and other parts requiring separate installations in a furnace or other air conditioning apparatus. Thus, when repairs or replacements of defective blower elements or parts thereof are required, the major part of labor occasioned by such repairs or replacements is performed at the situs of the installation. For instance: The parts requiring repair or renewal are disassembled and removed from the apparatus in which they are installed and subsequently are repaired or new parts supplied and reassembled in the apparatus.

One of the objects of the instant invention is the provision of a unitary air circulator that is readily installed in or removed from a furnace or air conditioning apparatus for the purpose of repair or replacement of the circulator unit.

Another object of the invention is to form a connection between the driving motor and the blower for the unit without intervening gears or belting that ordinarily are used in heating and air conditioning apparatus, which create noises and necessitate frequent repairs or replacements. Another object of the invention is to fashion the air ducts of the unit so the frictional resistance by the walls of the air ducts to air passing through the unit is substantially negligible.

Another object of the invention is to shape and arrange the opposing faces of the intake end of the revolving blower and the end of the intake nose of the stationary air duct so that leakage of air between the nose and the blower is substantially prevented.

And a further object of the invention is to shape and arrange the opposing faces of the intake end of the revolving blower and the end of the intake nose of the stationary air duct so that leakage of air between the nose and the blower is greatly reduced.

Other objects and advantages of the invention appear in the following description.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a furnace structure showing an air circulator in which the invention is incorporated installed therein, parts beingin section through a midportion thereof; Fig, 2 is an enlarged detail view of a flexible coupling for the motor and blower shafts, parts being in section;-

6 Claims. (01. 230- 117) 2 Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the blower and its mount, in section through a'midportion thereof, the view being drawn to a larger scale than Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of Fig. 3; and Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are enlarged'detail views of various parts of the structure shown in Fig. 3. In the illustrative embodiment of the inven tion the characters A, B and C respectively indicate generally a furnace housing, a heater arranged in the housing, and an air circulator installed in the furnace structure The furnace structure shown is exemplary of a known type of heating apparatus to which the instant air circulator C is applicable, and consists of the housing A and heater B of usual construction and relative arrangement.

The housing has at its top an upfiow hot air duct 8 and a downfiow air inlet duct 9 that have communication respectively with the hot air chamber 5!] and the cold air chamber II in the housing, the chambers being separated by a partition 12 that extends interveningly therebetween.

Ihe heater B consists of a shell l3 providing a combustion chamber I 4 and has an inlet l5 extending through the adjacent wall of the housing, through which fuel is supplied to the combustion chamber, and the heater has at its upper end an extension l6 of the combustion chamber that preferably extends transversely through the hot and cold air chambers I0 and II and terminates with a smoke flue I! through which the products of combustion from the heater are expelled into the atmosphere. The extension thus arranged has the efiect of tempering the cold air that passes down through the duct 9, past the extension, and from thence through an ordinary air filter I8 into the cold air receiving chamber ll.

The air circulator unit C is an assemblage of elements in which are included a base-plate l9, funnel 20, blower 2|, motor 22, an inner bracket 23 extending from the base-plate I9 supporting the funnel, an outer bracket 24 extending from thebase-plate supporting the motor, and a reflector 25 supported on said inner bracket.

I The outer marginal edges of the base-plate 19 are shaped to form a rim or channel 26 which is covered by a rubber strip to form a cushion 21, the channel together with the cushion being secured to the partition l2 by means of bolts 28. By this means the air circulating unit C receives support and the opening 29 in the partition 12 is closed, the cushion serving to absorb vibrations developed by the air circulate The air funnel (Fig. 3) is stationary and preferably is formed of two parts, a frustrum shaped nose constituting an intake port 3|, and a bell-shaped inner end portion constituting a discharge outlet 32. The outer end of the nose 30 has an external flange 33 that extends through an opening 34 in the base-plate l9 and overlapsthe outer face thereof where it is secured in place by bolts 35. The bolt openings 36 in the flange and base-plate are sufficiently large as to permit play of the bolts in the openings for centering adjustments. The nose has an external flange 31 surrounding its inner end which serves as an abutment hereinafter referred to.

The blower 2| has a series of peripheral slanting tangential blades 38, spaced apart from each other, and extending parallel with the axis thereof. The forward end of the blower has an annular flange 39 to which the adjacent ends of the blades 38 are secured and supported thereby. The, distal .end,of the flange 39 is preferably of increased thickness and presents an abutment face 40 that is disposed parallel with and closely adjacent to the abutment 31 on the nose 30 of the funnel when the blower is in operating position. Sufiicient clearance is left between the opposing faces of the abutment and the rim of the blower to permit rotation of the blower without contacting the nose while restricting free flow of air therebetween. Preferably, the abutting face 40 of the rim has an annular series of convolute grooves 4i in which air accumulates and tends to choke leakage of air between the opposing faces of the nose and rim. The opposite ends of the blades 38 are secured to an annular ring 42 that extends around the perimeter of the flanged hub 43 for the blower which serves the dual purpose of a chuck ring for use in machine dressing the hub and for convenience in counterbalancing the blower by drilling cavities 42. in selected places in the ring as in the usual manner of displacing weight. The outer face of 4 vibration developed upon operation of the blower.

By constructing and applying the coupler in this manner, torque pulsations developed by the motor are absorbed, thus relieving strain upon the set screws or other fastening means for securing the coupler on the motor shaft and the hub of the blower on its drive-shaft, so that loosenmg of the set-"screws is averted.

The reflector 25 is secured upon the inner bracket 23 with its upper portion spaced therefrom, disposed between the bearing 45 and the adjacent wall of the heater B, and serves as a shield for the bearing to prevent it from becoming overheatedby hot rays radiated from the adjacent wall of the heater.

. Operation In using the invention, the air circulator unit is bodily moved into the housing A and secured the hub flange 43 and the opposing inner face I of the funnel 20 are suitably spaced apart from each other and streamlined to affect passage of air drawn by operation of the blower through the funnel from the cold air chamber I l and discharged into the heating chamber (0 without material obstruction.

The blower 2| is secured upon a drive-shaft '44 that is alined with the axis of the funnel, the inner end of the drive-shaft being mounted for rotation in a bearing 45, preferably of the ball bearing type, which is supported by the inner bracket 23. The forward end of the drive-shaft has thereon a knob 46 (Fig. 2) that projects into a socket 41 in'the adjacent end of the motorshaft 22' and rests against a lubricant saturated pad 48 in the socket. The drive-shaft 44 is held by its ball bearing support 45 from having longitudinal movement so the clearance between 'the'nose 30 and the blower 21' is constantly maintained.

The blower drive-shaft 44 and motor-shaft 22".

are connected by a coupler consisting of afiexible tube 49, the ends of which have corresponding bushings 50- 50 and encompassing ferrules 5|. Une end of the coupler is secured to the motor shaft 22' by a set screwS-Z so that as the motor shaft-rotates the tube 49' is activated according ly. One end of the driveeshait 4t is flattened to form a seat- 53 into which the bushing Sun-ts, so that as the flexible tube is activatedthe drive-- shaft is rotated and has: axial play said bushing, by which to compensate for any endwise in place to the partition I2 that separates the chambers l0 and II therein. The cushion 21 that is interposed between the base-plate l9 and the partition 12 in the housing, and the 4 resilient tube 49 that for-ms part of the coupling between the motor-shaft 22 and the blower driveshaft 44 are contributing factors to silent opera tion of the air circulator, which is essential to avoidance of resonant annoying sounds that ordinarily are inherently common in the operation of apparatus of the character here involved.

When the motor is in operation, the blower is revolved causing air from the cold air chamber I I to be drawn through the funnel 20 from which it is directed through its discharge outlet 32 into the hot air chamber In against the adjacent wall of the heater B. The air thus forced into the chamber in becomes heated by contact with the heater and passes up through the duct 8 into the building (not shown) with which the ducts 8 and 9 are connected in the usual manner. The air from the building then is drawn downwardly through the air duct 9 into the cold air chamber Ii, after which it is recirculated through the housing A as in the former instance.

The air circulator thus constructed and made up entirely of factory assembled elements is con veniently installed in the housing in readiness for operation, and is readily removable from the housing without disturbance or dismemberment of its elements which is advantageous in servicing the apparatus.

Variations from the particular construction above disclosed may be resorted to by the exercise of skill in the art, without departure from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A unitary air circulator including a motor and adapted to be mounted on a partition of an air conditioning apparatus comprising a baseplate, said base-plate being formed to include a central opening and a channel structure around its marginal edges for attachment of said baseplate to said artition, a cushion ihehib'er supported on said channel structure for contacting said partition and preventing transmission of motor vibrations between said base-plate and said partition, a first bracketmounted onoi'iesi'de of said base-plate for supporting saidmc'tor coaxially of said opening, a second bracket mounted on the other side of said base-plate and including a bearing alined with the shaft of said motor, a blower including a supporting shaft mounted at one end in said bearing, a vibration absorbing coupling connected tc-the shaft of said motor andto the other end of said blower shaft for supporting and driving said blower shaft whereby motor vibration is not transmitted to said blower, and an air funnel mounted on said base-plate ooaxially with said blower for defining an air path through said circulator.

2. A unitary air oirculator including a motor and adapted to be mounted on a partition of an air conditioning apparatus comprising a baseplate, said base-plate being formed to include a central opening and a rim for attachment of said base-plate to said partition, a cushion member supported on said rim for contacting said partition and preventing transmission of motor vibrations between said base-plate and said partition, bracket structure mounted on said base-plate for supporting said motor coaxially of said opening and including a bearing alined with the shaft of said motor, a blower including a supporting shaft mounted at one end in said bearing, a vibration absorbing coupling connected to the shaft of said motor and to the other end of said blower shaft for supporting and driving said blower shaft whereby motor vibration is not transmitted to said blower, and an air funnel mounted on said base-plate coaxially with said blower for defining an air path through said circulator..

3. An air circulator comprising a base-plate formed with a centrally disposed opening, an air funnel, said air funnel comprising at the intake end thereof a frustrum shaped nose member joined at its outer and large end to said baseplate and extendin within said opening, and a bell-shaped member forming the discharge end of said funnel and joined at its small end to the small and inner end of said nose member, said inner end including a peripheral flange, and a blower rotatably mounted within the bell-shaped member of said funnel, said blower including peripheral slanting blades disposed parallel to its axis of rotation, and an annular flange joined to the ends of said blades and abutting said peripheral flange, the distal end of said annular flange being formed to have increased thickness and an annular series of convolute grooves facing said periphera1 flange for choking leakage of air between said flanges.

4. An air circulator comprising a base-plate formed with a centrally disposed opening, an air funnel, said air funnel comprising an intake nose member extending within said opening and a bell-shaped member forming the discharge end of said funnel and joined at its small end to the inner end of said nose member, said inner end including a peripheral flange, and a blower rotatably mounted within the bell-shaped member of said funnel, said blower including peripheral blades, and an annular flange joined to the ends of said blades and abutting said peripheral flange, the distal end of said annular flange being formed to have increased thickness and an annular series of convolute grooves facing said peripheral flange for choking leakage of air between said flanges.

5. An air circulator comprising a base-plate formed with a centrally disposed opening, an air funnel comprising an intake nose member joined at its outer end to said base-plate and a bellshaped member forming the discharge end, a dividin flange mounted intermediate the ends of said funnel, and a blower rotatably mounted within the bell-shaped member of said funnel, said blower including periphera1 blades, and an annular flange joined to the ends of said blades and abutting said dividing flange, the distal end of said annular flange being formed to have increased thickness and an annular series of grooves facing said peripheral flange for choking leakage of air between said flanges.

6. An air circulator comprising a base-plate formed with an opening, an air funnel extending within said opening, a dividing flange mounted intermediate the ends of said funnel, and a blower rotatably mounted within the discharge end of said funnel, said blower including an annular flange abutting said dividing flange and formed to have annular grooves facing said dividing flange for choking leakage of air between said flanges.

RULO 'WAYNE SMITH.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Iredell July 31, 1951 

